[ FUTURE LESSONS FOR TODAY S LIVING THE BOOK OF REVELATION INDUCTIVE LESSON EIGHTEEN BOWL JUDGMENTS CONTINUED Day One Text: (Begin this week s lesson by reading the assigned passage several times.) Hint: Read the passage repeatedly, prayerfully, thoughtfully, meditatively and patiently. Revelation 16: 7 21 7 And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." 8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. 10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. 12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not 1
found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. Memory Verse: 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Day Two Words Matter: In this portion of the lesson we will take a closer look at one or two key words in the chapter. You will need to have your tools or resources at hand, such as more than one Bible translation, a dictionary or Bible dictionary, concordance, atlas, and encyclopedia. If you don t have all of these, simply use what you do have to enrich your learning. To do some digging on your own, start with your dictionary (or Bible dictionary) and then look up the references to add to your understanding. If you have additional resources, you may want to keep digging. Record these additional notes in the Tool Box section of your study. After you ve completed the investigative process, write a definition in your own words. Your investigation in today s lesson will lay the groundwork for deeper discoveries in subsequent lessons, so be as thorough as you can. Glory: Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. Dictionary or Concordance definition: What does the Bible have to say? Genesis 45:13 Deuteronomy 5:24 Psalm 21:5 Write your own definition: 2
Day Three Toolbox: Use your toolbox or secondary helps to enhance your observational findings. Study Bible: Bible Concordance: Bible Dictionary: Bible Handbooks: Bible Atlas: Bible Commentary: Day Four Inductively Speaking Context is the essential tool by which all forms or genres of writing are kept in balance. Applying context to Biblical Scripture is asking this: What has come before and after the passage of God s Word under study? Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. These two verses and all of God s Word that is recorded between them must be balanced together in what is called context. Countless numbers of men and women have been attempting to interpret what we know as the inspired, inherent, living Word of God. Many knowing or unknowingly have for one reason or another managed to blaspheme, misrepresent, and malign God s Word. For most, there is a lack of experience at organizing the facts of God s word in their minds. Not keeping the balance of context leads them to misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the Scriptures. For those who have worldly desires it is a matter of gain or power over those who have been unknowing. Through the inductive learning process we can begin to know His perfect will ourselves with the Holy Spirit s help and our disciplined study of God s Holy Word. Revelation 16:7 11 3
7 And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." 8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. 10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. I. Observation: Finding the literal facts or most obvious details of the passage. Hint: Begin observation by asking the questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Verses 7 11 Inductively Speaking The natural instinct of a good Bible student is to ask what comes after Genesis 1:1 to give a clear understanding of this verse. This contextual process repeats itself all the way to the last verse in Revelation 22:21, when sound students of Scripture must ask what came before this verse to give it its meaning. In short, the Bible has been written in the form of 66 segments we call books, all related to one another as they pertain to God and His will for His people. Remember, God s Word is to be understood in its entirety in order to keep the balance of interpretation for what God has actually said instead of what we may want God to say. Scripture passages are connected to each other so that what comes before is as important as what comes after. Context is the connectivity of the Scriptures allowing us to interpret their meanings in order to apply them to our lives. II. Interpretation: Discovering the lessons or meaning of God's instruction to His people. Hint: Try to place yourself with these people, in their circumstances, at this time of Bible history Verses 7 11 Inductively Speaking 4
There are five separations of context for our purposes of understanding God s Word. First, there is the literary context. As we have just said, each verse is a part of each chapter and each chapter is a part of each book which is a part of the whole of what we know as the Bible. Historical context is correctly placing in time and place the story that was told. For example: When is this taking place? Where does the passage fit in history? What else was taking place in the world at that time? What were the social, political and technological happenings of that time and how was it affecting the people? A very powerful influence of the people of biblical times was the cultural context that the writer was speaking to, i.e., different forms of communication or language. The more we understand ancient cultures the better the understanding of the meaning of the text we will have. Geographical context is another important part of Bible study. Where was it that all these stories, battles, kingdoms, missions, and Christ s birth, death, and resurrection took place? What was the location s relevance to the story told? Finally, what was the theological context? What did the writer know about God? Where was he and the people in their understanding of God? God s Word was written over several thousand years. God gradually revealed small segments of Himself to the people, one verse at a time, one chapter at a time, one book at a time, all of it culminating in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. In this book, Jesus through John ties the whole of God s Word together from Genesis to Revelation declaring Himself as the author and finisher not only of the Bible itself but of all creation. III. Application: Applying the lessons and meaning of God's instructions to His people. Hint: Apply the lesson or lessons you found in the interpretation section in the form of a question. Verses 7 11 Day Five Revelation 16:12 16 12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. I. Observation: Finding the literal facts or most obvious details of the passage. Hint: Begin observation by asking the questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. 5
Verses 12 16 II. Interpretation: Discovering the lessons or meaning of God's instruction to His people. Hint: Try to place yourself with these people, in their circumstances, at this time of Bible history. Verses 12 16 III. Application: Applying the lessons and meaning of God's instructions to His people. Hint: Apply the lesson or lessons you found in the interpretation section in the form of a question. Verses 12 16 Day Six Revelation 16:17 21 (Today s highlighted passage of study.) 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. I. Observation: Finding the literal facts or most obvious details of the passage. Hint: Begin observation by asking the questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. Verses 17 21 6
II. Interpretation: Discovering the lessons or meaning of God's instruction to His people. Hint: Try to place yourself with these people, in their circumstances, at this time of Bible history. Verses 17 21 III. Application: Applying the lessons and meaning of God's instructions to His people. Hint: Apply the lesson or lessons you found in the interpretation section in the form of a question. Verses 17 21 Memory Verse: 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Impact Statement: A simple personal statement about how the Holy Spirit will guide and direct you from this week s study. 2011 Craig L. Thomas. All rights reserved. Express permission granted for use and reproduction by Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, CA. www.harvest.org Prayer Requests: Lecture Notes: 7
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